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Archive for category In the Kitchen

What better way to celebrate a 2nd birthday than with sprinkles?! Our daughter’s very first friend, Zoe, turned two today and we just had to make a fun treat to take to her party!

When it comes to kids’ birthdays, I’m a big fan of treats that aren’t loaded with sugar or artificial junk. I pulled out my new favorite sprinkles and some dye-free M&M’s for inspiration. I also knew there would be cake, so baked goods were off the table. We know a lot of folks with nut allergies, so I’ve made it a rule to avoid them for parties. To easily adapt the recipe for what you have on hand, see the variations at the bottom of the recipe for ideas.

While daddy and Adelyn wrestled and watched “George George“, I whipped up this quick Funfetti popcorn mix. It took about 20 minutes and just a handful of ingredients! This is a sweet, savory and naturally colorful birthday treat. It was also easy to transport – just two 1-gallon ziplocs!

I popped the organic corn on the stovetop with a little coconut oil to give it a birthday cakey flavor. To my surprise, this treat was as popular with the adults as it was with the kids. By the time we left, there was an empty bowl with a few unpopped kernels and some rogue sprinkles.

In a large covered pot, melt coconut oil over high heat. (If you don’t have a huge sauce pot, you may want to pop the popcorn two batches). Toss in popcorn kernels and cover. Shake the pan occasionally until you hear the kernels begin to pop. Continue shaking the pan intermittently to ensure all kernels pop and none burn. Once popping ceases, transfer to parchment-lined cookie sheets.

Sprinkle the chocolate candies over the popcorn. In the microwave, melt white chocolate in a squeeze bottle or glass measuring bowl for 30 seconds. Stir and continue microwaving in 30 second increments until chocolate is just melted.

Drizzle half of the melted white chocolate onto the popcorn mixture and toss to coat evenly. Drizzle the remaining white chocolate, stir and quickly pour the multicolored sprinkles over the popcorn before the chocolate sets up. Finally sprinkle with the salt.

Variations: This mix would also be wonderful with pretzel rods, honey roasted peanuts, whole almonds or candy coated sunflower seeds. If opting for a cup and a half of pretzels or salted nuts, reduce the popcorn to 1/2 cup, the oil to 1 tbsp. and omit the salt from the recipe.

You could also substitute 1/4 tsp. of almond extract for the vanilla if you want a subtle birthday cake flavor.

Hint: You can find the natural rainbow sprinkles in Homegoods stores and the Unreal candy is available at Target or CVS.

Disclosure: I wasn’t paid or perked to link to the products mentioned, I’m just always on the hunt for baking items free of artificial food coloring. I love sharing that there are alternatives out there!

I’ve been baking (and now posting!) again. It’s glorious! Between a new baby and a major house remodel this year, my kitchen (and energy levels) were a bit out of sorts. I’m happy to say that my new kitchen is gorgeous and 90% finished. I am busy at work breaking it in!

For some reason last year when my daughter (still sounds strange) was born, it didn’t hit me that her and my hubby’s birthdays are 9 days apart…. This year I fit in a decadent cake for Jason while planning baby A’s big first birthday bash. I have all the juicy details of her party to share, but first the caramel-soaked cake that my not-a-day-over-21 (ha!) cutie requested.

Bam! I sat over a hot flame on my new gas oven preparing not one, but 3 batches of caramel for this bad boy. It was my first time making a french buttercream and it was the highlight of the cake for me. Especially the subtle dark caramel notes and the creamy texture. The cake held up in the fridge for the better part of a week, but the caramel sauce began to crystallize a bit after that. The white cake recipe was pretty good, but I expected it to be more moist with the caramel soaked in. You could easily substitute your favorite white or yellow cake recipe. (while you are at it… share the link in the comments!)

We may have eaten a few slices for breakfast with coffee and then had it for dessert that night too… It was seriously a treat and when I make it again, I’ll share with friends – maybe. Keep in mind that this recipe has a good number of steps and you might use all of your saucepans a few times. You can prepare the cake layers one day and then frost/drizzle on the second day if you are short on time.

Here is the full recipe and instructions if you want to reproduce this tasty treat in your own kitchen. (Trust me you do).

Basic Vanilla Cake

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans or line with parchment paper. In a stand mixer, cream together sugar and room temperature butter. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at time and then stir in the vanilla. Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the flour to the butter mixture and then the milk until everything is incorporated. Distribute half the batter into each cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until your house just starts to smell like cake. Cool.

Caramel Soak

1½ cups white sugar

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

While your cakes are baking, combine the first 5 ingredients into a large heavy bottomed sauce pan. Cook the sugar mixture over medium heat stirring frequently. The mixture will begin to simmer and foam. Continue to stir and cook until a light caramel color is achieved, approximately 7 minutes. Mix together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda and salt in a medium to large saucepan (a larger saucepan is important, as the mixture will foam up).Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to simmer.As soon as the mixture starts simmering, set the timer for 7 minutes.Continue cooking (it’ll start boiling soon), stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over warm cake layers still in their pans and allow to cool completely.

Burnt Caramel French Buttercream

8 egg yolks

5.25 oz sugar

1/4 c. water

5.75 oz corn syrup

1 lb butter, softened

¾ tsp. smoked sea salt

Allow your ingredients to come to room temperature. Prepare an ice bath large enough for a small sauce pan. Whip egg yolks and salt on medium speed in a stand mixer.While those are whipping, bring corn syrup to a rolling boil in a small sauce pan over medium to medium high heat. Slowly stream the corn syrup into the whipping egg yolks. Increase the mixer speed to high and whip until the syrup egg mixture is light and airy. Heat sugar and 1/4 c. of water in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat until boiling. Cover the pan with a lid. Check on it frequently and when your sugar begins to turn from clear to golden, swirl the pan to encourage it to caramelize evenly. Turn the heat down to medium and allow the sugar to slowly caramelize to a very dark amber. When it begins to slightly smoke, remove the pan from heat and dunk into your ice bath for 10 seconds. (Do that step carefully). Before the caramel hardens too much, stream it into your egg yolk/corn syrup mixture at high speed. Whip until the mixture has completely cooled. Then slowly add in the cubed butter. Mix in salt and beat until uniform and fluffy!

Caramel Drizzle

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. water

3/4 c. heavy cream

3 1/2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. smoked salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Ramp up the temperature and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, or wipe sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush if crystals begin to form. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Boil for approximately 5 minutes until a deep amber color is achieved. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream. (Mixture will bubble and hiss – be careful). Then stir in the butter, vanilla and salt. Allow caramel to cool.

Cake Assembly

To put all the components together, remove your first cake layer from the cake pan (you may need to loosen the edges with a butter knife). Place on a serving dish or cake round. Cover with caramel buttercream on all sides. Place second layer on top and again cover all sides with an even layer of buttercream using a frosting spatula. Use any excess buttercream to pipe decorations or edges onto your frosted cake. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

When my mom comes to visit, we cook. Can’t help it. Actually come to think of it, it doesn’t matter where we are there is always good food around. I have to admit, when my mom is in my kitchen – I feel like an amateur. I always learn a new trick or two and her food just tastes better than mine!

It’s funny because being critical of our food is also kinda hereditary. We have a running joke that if mom thinks something she made is good, then it will be one of the best things we’ve ever eaten. And these lemon ricotta fritters were just that! Seriously, they were gone before we could get a proper picture….

(Thanks to hubs for instagramming the shot above or there would be no photo evidence!)

A light dusting of powdered sugar and a little berry compote to dip them in and we were savoring every last nugget! We started with this Bobby Flay recipe, though we added more lemon zest and improvised on the berry compote. Here’s our version:

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

(makes 15-20)

4 c. vegetable oil

¾ c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. grated lemon zest

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. whole milk ricotta

Heat the oil to 370 degrees in a small or medium saucepan. Mix dry ingredients and lemon zest in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredient bowl and fold in the flour mixture.

Using a small icecream scoop (or spoon if you don’t have one) drop the dough into the hot oil. The fritters will begin to puff and they actually flipped themselves once one side was cooked (keep an eye on them and turn them over if yours don’t). Total cook time will be about 3 minutes. Watch them closely because they go from golden to brown very quickly.

Drain on paper towels and sift confectioners sugar over them while they are still hot. Dip in the berry compote and let them melt in your mouth!

Berry Compote

2 c. strawberries, sliced

1 c. blueberries

1/2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Hull the strawberries and check the blueberries over for stems. Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium high heat until the sugar begins to dissolve.

Turn heat down to medium and simmer until the berries are macerated and the liquid begins to thicken. Mash with a fork or potato masher. Serve warm with the fritters!

These double chocolate hazelnut cookies are the perfect pick-me-up! A close friend of mine was having a tough week, so I whipped up a batch and mailed them to her. Apparently more than a few were crushed in transit, but she said they made the perfect topping for ice cream!

If you use the wheat flour, hazelnuts and a high octane dark chocolate, these are super satisfying without making you feel too guilty.

Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

(makes 24)

¼ c. butter, softened

¾ c. dark brown sugar

¼ c. canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. all purpose flour

¼ c. natural cocoa powder (unsweetened)

¼ tsp. salt

⅔ c. dark chocolate, chopped

⅔ c. hazelnuts, chopped & toasted

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gently mix in oil, egg and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (thru salt). On medium speed, slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in the dark chocolate pieces.

Use a 1/4 c. scoop to portion out the cookie dough onto a baking sheet. I used a Silpat mat to encourage browning and prevent the dough from sticking. Gently press a teaspoon of the chopped hazelnuts onto the top of each cookie, flattening them out.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until firm but slightly gooey in the center.

Here is what they should look like going into the oven. Feel free to eat them when slightly warm. I had to test them as soon as they were done to make sure they were good enough to share!

When I bake for a special occasion, it’s rare that I try out a completely new recipe. Normally I like to play it a little safe and make something I know is going to turn out. But I was still on the hunt for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe after making several that weren’t chocolatey enough or were too dry. Our friend Jill turned 30 this week and that’s definitely an occasion for chocolate if you ask me (I also hit 30 this year)!

I found a few recipes that use a combo of buttermilk and hot water to infuse moisture into the cake (inspiration here and here). That, along with some new natural cocoa powder were just the ticket to creating a fluffy moist cupcake with a deep chocolate flavor. The homemade vanilla bean buttercream was also a thing of beauty. I’m normally a chocolate-on-chocolate kinda girl, but a quick Facebook poll said most folks prefer vanilla frosting, who knew? I used my favorite buttercream standby and fancied it up with vanilla bean paste.

The most surprising thing about the cake batter is how thin it is when it goes into the pan. I was concerned that we’d end up with chocolate goo, but now I’m pondering ways to use the hot water technique for other cupcake batters because it was THAT good! These aren’t gluten, fat, sugar or guilt free, but they are just the ticket for a big celebration!

Note: You will see a few special ingredients like coffee extract and vanilla bean paste. I provided Amazon links to the products I use, but I like to purchase them at a major discount from Marshall’s or TJ Maxx!

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

(makes 36 cupcakes)

3 c. granulated sugar

2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 ¼ c. natural cocoa powder (not dutch process)

2 ¼ tsp. baking powder

2 ¼ tsp. baking soda

1.5 tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 ½ c. buttermilk

¾ c. canola oil

3 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ c. boiling water

2 tsp. coffee extract (optional – I use this brand. Or, substitute water with hot coffee!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 cupcake tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.

Put water in a small pan over high heat and allow it to begin boiling while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

In a separate bowl or large plastic measuring cup, mix eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and coffee extracts until blended. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Pour the boiling water into the mixture. It will be the texture of melted milkshake, not to worry. Distribute batter into prepared pans, filling each cupcake about 2/3 full.

Bake for 17-20 minutes until center bounces back when pressed or a toothpick comes out clean. (Or until your whole house starts to smell like warm chocolate). Cool completely and then frost with your favorite recipe or the one below.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

(generously frosts 36 cupcakes)

1 lb unsalted butter, room temp.

¼ c. shortening (optional – makes it smoother & more heat stable)

3 lb confectioners’ sugar

¼ c. whole milk, room temp.

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. vanilla bean paste (I use this one purchased at Marshall’s for half the price)

pinch of salt

The most important step for this simple recipe to work is to set out all your ingredients and get them to room temperature. If you skip this, the buttercream will curdle=not yummy.

Whip butter on high speed for 5 minutes until smooth. Meanwhile, sift the confectioners’ sugar to remove clumps.

Add the first pound of sugar to the butter and mix on low speed until incorporated. Then add the milk and mix on low speed until combined.

Add second pound of sugar and mix until smooth. Add remaining pound of sugar, shortening, vanilla bean paste, vanilla and salt and mix on low speed.

Whip on high speed for an additional 5 minutes until the icing is white and smooth. If it appears too stiff you can add an additional tablespoon of milk but you want a good thick frosting for piping. Pipe using a Wilton 1 M tip working from outside to inside to get the look above.

Fun fact: I also created the scalloped cupcake liners using coordinating scrapbook papers. I traced out a template that I found online and used my Silhouette cutter to get 36 perfect cupcake wrappers! This is a new tool for me, so if you have any other fun project suggestions I’d love to hear them!

If there’s one thing that is frustrating to give up when you’re pregnant it’s ice cream. Am I Right? Ladies? Yeah, torture. Since avoiding excess carbs and sugar, I’ve had to get really creative to still get my sweet fix. Especially now that we’ve skipped spring in the South and headed straight for summer temps.

Inspired by two simple recipes, I created a creamy satisfying Sunday afternoon Sundae for Jason and I using 3 ingredients: Frozen bananas, coconut milk and homemade vanilla extract. (You could skip the vanilla, but it just has a great richness that adds to the “ice cream” taste).

If it weren’t for my Pinterest addiction, I would have never known that you could whip frozen banana chunks into cold a cold creamy dream. Top it with some whipped coconut cream and you have a dairy, sugar and definitely guilt free dessert! This would be very satisfying for folks with a dairy allergy too.

3 Ingredient Banana Coconut Ice Cream Sundae

Peel the two bananas and cut into bit sized chunks. Place on a small cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen and then store in a freezer bag until ready to make your treat. At the same time, put your can of coconut milk in the fridge. This isn’t an instant process, so you’ll want to do both of these steps at least a day in advance.

To make the coconut whipped topping, open the can of coconut milk and carefully spoon the cream into a mixing bowl. Don’t worry if you get a small amount of the coconut water that has settled to to the bottom, it will still whip up. Add the vanilla and blend with a whisk attachment on the stand mixer for 3-5 minutes until creamy & fluffy.

Place the bananas in a large food processor fitted with the normal metal blade. Slowly pulse bananas until they form a crumb-like texture. Scrape down the sides and allow the bananas to melt just slightly. Then turn the food processor on and allow it whip until the banana puree is completely smooth and wonderful.

Spoon the banana “ice cream” into a bowl and top with coconut whipped cream. You can sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top, stir in peanut butter or add a little cocoa powder to the banana mixture as it’s whipping to vary the flavors. It would also be delicious with some toasted pecans or a couple of vanilla wafers if you were feeling really sassy.

Healthy cookies that taste great….it’s a tough challenge. The key is to balance the ingredients and use just enough of each to give them flavor, without lots of added sugar and carbs.

If it’s not totally obvious, I have a sweet tooth. Deprive me of goodies completely and I’m not a happy girl – especially pregnant. Browsing through my monthly cooking magazines, I came across this recipe for Oatmeal, Cranberry and Flax cookies from King Arthur. I’ve had success with many of their recipes in the past, so I decided to give this one a go.

Of course, I always like to put my own touch on things so I added a handful of shredded coconut and some dark chocolate chips. Can you tell I was afraid it would taste like I tried to make healthy cookies? I also halved the recipe because, well, then I can’t gobble up 3 dozen. Here’s what they looked like going in the oven:

I love that there is just enough butter to help them brown, a hint of sweetness from the cranberries and brown sugar and the oats really hold it all together. The chocolate and coconut gave it just a touch of richness that made you really feel like it was a treat. Actually, the best part of the recipe is that there are basically 2 steps. It couldn’t be simpler!

Cranberry Flax Crunch Cookies

(makes 15 cookies)

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. homemade vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur)

3/4 c. rolled oats (not instant)

1/3 c. flax meal

3/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. shredded coconut flakes

1/2 c. dark chocolate morsels

Beat first 7 ingredients in a stand mixer until creamy. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into the butter egg mixture.

Eating healthy is always on our list of priorities, but it’s even more important now that I’m carrying a tiny human to feed. I’ve been following 101 Cookbooks, an inventive natural food blog for several years, but always felt the ingredients were something you had to have a Whole Foods budget or a California market to get your hands on.

When we moved to the Atlanta area, I discovered the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and it has quickly become a weekly shopping destination for me. From blood oranges to kohlrabi to dried chanterelles you can find just about anything you could imagine at an awesome price.

On my last trip, I picked up almost 2 lbs of dried chickpeas for a whopping $2.97. I followed Heidi’s recipe pretty closely, although I made a half batch of the hummus part but made the full jalapeno sauce portion.

I also didn’t have parsley on hand, so I swapped it for fresh chives instead. I expected a lot of heat from the jalapeno, but it gave a surprising freshness to the sauce… the heat really took until the next day’s leftovers to show up. Overall this was a smooth, satisfying accompaniment to some toasted oat pitas.

Creamy Jalapeno & Chive Hummus

(makes 2 cups of hummus)

1/2 lb dried chickpeas

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. lemon juice

3/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 c. tahini

1 clove garlic

1/4 c. chives

1 jalapeño, destemmed and deseeded

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2/3 c. olive oil

Soak the chickpeas for 4 hours. Rinse and discard the water. Add 4 cups of water and the baking soda to the chickpeas. Boil over medium high heat for 40 minutes, skimming foam from the top. Drain.

Combine cooked chickpeas, water, lemon juice, salt, 1 clove of garlic and tahini to your food processor. Puree for several minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl in between to ensure smoothness. Put the hummus into a pretty serving bowl.

De-seed and de-stem the jalapeno and place it in the food processor bowl. Pulse it with the chive, garlic and salt. With the food processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil. Swirl the jalapeno sauce into the hummus until the desired flavor is achieved. (Leftovers can be used in a dressing, sauce or as a marinade).

The only thing that can make great coffee better is an awesome baked good to go alongside it. Jason and I have been huge fans of the caramellato at Octane Coffee in Atlanta since before we moved here. Their main location is walking distance of his office and it’s a fun funky place and these folks have serious brewing skills. Need I say more:

They recently opened a new location (near Grant park) and half of the store is “Little Tart Bake Shop”. One step inside and I fell in love. It’s bright and open, industrial and decorated with common materials but in a chic fun way. Large typography on the wall, huge mirrors-turned-dry erase-menu and lots of coffee alchemy going on. (It inspired us to incorporate more of the industrial look into our house renovation). On our first trip, we ordered several goodies because we couldn’t decide what to try, so many sweet & savory options.

By far our favorite was a golden blueberry buckle. A cross between a blueberry muffin and a scone, it was flecked with huge caramelized blueberries in a fluffy buttery crumb. I’ve been wanting to recreate it at home and I quickly learned that the interpretation of a buckle is widely varied. Some describe it as more of a coffee cake with a streusel on top. Others just a rustic dough baked on parchment into a biscuit shape. I decided to make a very large version of the Little Tart interpretation:

What sold me on this recipe was the addition of peaches or nectarines, a perfect compliment to the blueberries! I nixed the streusel for a wash of milk, sugar and cinnamon that gave the top a beautiful sticky golden covering. I opted to make one large buckle, but you could easily do this in 12 muffin tins for individual portions at a brunch. Enjoy!

Peach Blueberry Buckle

(serves 8-12)

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c.sugar

2 tsp. homemade vanilla

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 pint blueberries

1 1/2 c. peaches or nectarines

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and dice the peaches and wash your blueberries. Let both strain to remove excess liquid.

In the meantime, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients and add in 3 increments to the butter mixture, alternating with an egg each time. Don’t overmix.

Pour into a greased 9″ cake pan and smooth with a spatula. Prepare the milk wash with the remaining ingredients. Brush over the pastry until the whole surface is shiny (note: you may not use it all).

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set. Allow to cool and serve to your very lucky breakfast guests!

People ask you also sorts of questions when you are pregnant but the recent favorite is about what I’m craving. I haven’t had too many strange midnight snacks… the weirdest was that I wanted mini marshmallows, uh….frozen. (You should totally try it, hubby liked them too). A close second to that is chocolate and anything with cheese or carbs. I know it sounds like I’m in junk food heaven but I’ve actually been eating tons of leafy greens, lean proteins and fruit for the most part.

Anyway, back to marshmallows. I have been wanting to make them from scratch for a long time, but I had filed them away as one of those difficult recipes that you should only attempt when you have extra patience. To my surprise, they are actually relatively easy if you have the right tools! I came across these cute snowflake shaped ones and thought they would make a perfect topping to Hot Chocolate on a Stick which I first discovered on Pinterest, my new favorite source of inspiration.

We have a recent Christmas tradition of only getting gifts for the kids, so I thought Hot Chocolate on a Stick would be a fun inexpensive surprise for the adults. I wrapped them up in twos in cute gift packaging and printed up some little personalized labels to go along with them! I also put instructions on the back to heat up 8 oz of milk and stir in the stick for almost instant hot chocolate. Aren’t they fun?!

Here is the recipe if you want to make up a batch yourself!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

(makes 48)

Homemade Marshmallows

(makes about 60 snowflakes & extra tidbits)

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2/3 c. water, divided in half

1 1/2 c. sugar

2/3 c. light corn syrup

1/8 tsp. salt

1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1/4 c. confectioners sugar

Line a 9×13 pan with non-stick foil and spray with cooking spray. Add 1/3 c. of cold water to gelatin in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Let soften while making the sugar syrup.

Heat sugar, remaining 1/3 c. water, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cover and bring to a boil until a candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees.

Whisk the gelatin on low speed and stream in the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl (caution: Hot sugar will burn you!) When all the sugar is poured in, raise the speed to high and beat mixture until it has tripled and is white, fluffy and sticky.

Spray a spatula with cooking spray and coax the sticky fluff into your prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to smooth it flat. Sprinkle the top with confectioners sugar and allow to firm up overnight.

You can cut the marshmallows into cubes or use a fun cookie cutter dipped in confectioners sugar to make shapes.

Cocoa Rounds or Blocks

½ c. heavy cream

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

3 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips

cooking spray

wooden sticks

Heat the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk over low to medium heat until just steaming. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips.

Allow to melt thoroughly. You can place it back over low heat if the chocolate is lumpy at all, but mine was very smooth after stirring. Be careful not to overheat it.

Prepare two mini muffin pans, by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Using a small spring loaded icecream scoop, dispense the chocolate into each cup filling each 3/4 of the way full.

Poke each marshmallow long ways with a greased metal skewer or other sharp utensil. Slide the marshmallow 1 inch up the stick and dip into chocolate. Repeat for 48 sticks and then place in the refrigerator to harden. Package up and put a smile on the face of your friends during the colder months of the year!

I learned that you should always make a few extra in case the kids want to enjoy some too….

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Hi my name is Amy and welcome to my blog, The Bake Cakery. This is a diary of sorts about things that make me happy, inspire me or make me laugh. Check out the about page for more info and info below to see what I'm up to.